Jaimie Craddock: Canadian Gothic

Toronto-based ADC Member brings her spooky style to Illustration Month

ADC’s Illustration Month has really been bringing out the best in our creative community. It’s a pleasure to provide a platform for illustrators of various levels to showcase their work, and we have been more than happy with the response we’ve received from ADC Members with a passion for drawing.

Wrapping up Illustration Month for this week: a Toronto-based ADC Member with a flair for the unusual.

Just about every kid can draw, but not every kid is particularly gifted at it. Where did your childhood artistic inclinations come from?

My Grandfather and Father where both in the package design business, when you still had to paint and ink by hand. So art was business. Mind you, it was a business I had no interest in when I was 11, and I said as much. Now with my love of design and typography, I wish it was still old school like that and I would have loved to be part of the family business. But then computers came along…..

“I wish it was still old school like that and I would have loved to be part of the family business. But then computers came along…..”

When did you discover that “Hey, this could actually be a career”?

…I can make a living from this!?

How would you best describe your style? Do you fight against having a particular style, or do you embrace your style as your “brand”?

I’m always a little uncomfortable describing myself, but I love to create texture with line, I love to use bright colors, I love to I have a few different things I do so it’s hard to nail down a style, but “big eyes” are predominant…is that a style?

Walk us through your usual creative process.

First I think of a way I want to torture some cute things.

Then I sketch them. Ink them.

Stop for a snack.

Then decide if I want to color them by hand or machine.

Occasionally I paint them.

It’s not much of a process.

Tools of the trade: do you have any specific pens, pencils or other instruments that you swear by?

I love Bristol board. Something with a bit of a texture, but I am not fancy; any Bristol board will do in a pinch. I also like to use Pilot and Prismacolor drawing pens. I have a pretty heavy hand and they hold up well.

What is the most challenging thing about a career in illustration?

The same thing that is challenging in any creative job: Getting paid after the job is done.

Is there a particular project of yours of which you’re especially proud?

Right now I am really enjoying the Theme Beans, because they seem to make people happy. They seem to like that there is a lot going on. They make people giggle. Then I giggle, it’s all good.

Cocktail party talk: how do you describe what you do to someone who isn’t in a creative field, and what’s the typical response you get from them?

Most of the events I go to are with people who are in creative industries. I always feel bad to the dental assistant who has to listen to us.

“Most of the events I go to are with people who are in creative industries. I always feel bad to the dental assistant who has to listen to us.”

Where do you most often seek out creative inspiration?

I see a carrot and I think …yup, food. Then I forget about it for a week. Then I remember it and write it down. Then I lose that note. Then I see a carrot again.